pandemic

Since 2020 the state has allowed oil and gas producers to temporarily stop running pumps because the pandemic economy was particularly bad for business. But despite the rebound in oil prices, there are still more than 1,000 wells sitting idle.

Communities of color have long been underserved here in New Mexico––an issue only highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a new initiative launched by the New Mexico Black Leadership Council looks to change this by connecting them more easily to essential services.

State health officials on August 4, 2022 said Monkeypox is a new public health emergency and that COVID cases remain high in a third of New Mexico counties thanks to the highly transmissible BA.5 variant. However the growth in case numbers has plateaued. Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase and Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Laura Parajon both spoke about the diseases.

New Mexico now has 8 counties at the highest orange level, 3 less than last week, on the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID community levels map. Still populous counties like Bernalillo and Sandoval are orange and the CDC and NMDOH recommend that anyone in orange counties wear N95 masks indoors in public settings. KUNM’s Jered Ebenreck provides this update.

As the second holiday weekend in two weeks arrives, New Mexicans face fresh challenges calculating COVID-19 risk. By CDC standards, New Mexico has a surge of cases higher than last summer, without a mask mandate, managed by an understaffed Department of Health that provides irregular updates as hospitalizations and deaths increase.

The Department of Health gives first COVID19 update in 3 months, announcing the departure of the State Epidemiologist and acknowledging a new surge of cases in NM. Acting Secretary of Health, Dr David Scrase emphasized the value of testing early and treating early.

This week on Let’s Talk New Mexico we’re talking Long COVID with several people who are survivors, as well as health care officials about what kinds of treatments are available and how doctors can learn to spot the symptoms in their patients.

The pandemic has challenged schools and universities in ways big and small. In medical schools, including at UNM, the anatomy labs are struggling with a lack of bodies for dissection.

Albuquerque Public Schools announced Tuesday that it will begin rolling out stronger COVID-safe practices district-wide in response to an uptick in cases. This comes as Santa Fe Public Schools begins a week of remote learning in response to its COVID positivity rate.

Almost half of nurses in the United States may leave their jobs in the next six months due to burnout made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to a survey by the American Nurses Foundation.